Flying Home
by Kylie18
Summary: While on a mission Tony Nelson's plane goes missing. All evidence and Jeannie's inability to blink her husband home, point to Tony's demise in the plane crash. Jeannie and Roger refuse to believe and set out to find him, no matter what the costs. Rating it T because there maybe be a scene or two between Tony/Jeannie where things get...heated.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors notes *please read*: **_Another fic set in The Birds, the Bees and a Baby bit and No Regrets universe. It's set about a year after No Regrets. If you haven't read, no worries. All you need to know is that Tony and Jeannie are happy, married and raising three adorable kids. Spoilers for the whole series. Wanted to change things up and do something a little more dramatic._

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"I'm still jealous that you keep getting these missions and I'm left talking you through them," Roger said into his headset.

"I'd gladly let you have it. There's nothing like babysitting an airplane when you could be at home in bed," Tony said back to them. It was just after three in morning and he'd been flying an automatic plane since midnight. It was a late night and early morning field test of new flight technology that NASA hoped to adapt to their space fleet.

"I know it doesn't seem like it, Colonel Nelson but you are conducting vital NASA research. And you are the best man for a mission like this," The Captain in charge of watching his plane on radar told him.

"I know. I know. I'd just rather be at home. Getting some rest before sitting through Ben's play later this morning."

"What kind of a play can a bunch of kindergarten's put on?" Roger wondered into his mic.

"Not a very good one," The Captain teased.

"I wouldn't be laughing, Rog, this is your future," Tony teased back.

"Hey slow down, Tina hasn't even had the kid yet, I've got years before I have to sit through stuff like this."

"Maybe as father, but you're still Uncle Roger, you're going too," Tony reminded him. "It's one of the joys of fatherhood."

"Joys," Roger blew back, shaking his head. "You can call it whatever you want, but if I were you I'd want my plane to blow off course so I'd miss it."

"Haha," Tony laughed.

"Colonel Nelson," Captain Adams interrupted, "you're about to fly into a pretty heavy storm area. Stay on course, the plane is made for worse weather than this."

"Alright," Tony replied, flicking on the needed tools to record how the plane handled in the storm.

"I still don't see how being at home chasing children could be better than the storm you're about to fly through," Roger joked, but got no reply. "Tony?"

There was a fuzzy reply that neither man could make out.

"Colonel Nelson?" Captain Adams said into his microphone, "Colonel is everything alright?"

"Tony?" Roger said, "Tony what's going on?"

"He's losing altitude", Captain Adams pushed out, "Colonel Nelson, what's happening?"

There was another grainy reply from Tony, but neither man could distinguish what he'd said.

"Tony…" Roger called into the microphone again, panic starting to rise in his voice. He pulled his headphones off and got up to move to where Captain Adam's sat. "What's going on?"

He shook his head. "I'm not getting anything."

"Where is his plane?" Roger asked, staring blankly at the radar screen.

"He just dropped off," Captain Adams replied, his own voice filled with panic. "Colonel Nelson?"

Roger ran back to his desk and threw on his headphones. "Tony?" He yelled into the mic this time as Captain Adam's frantically scanned different radar frequencies for any sign of the plane.

His reply this time wasn't static or grainy audio; it was total silence.

**To be continued**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The clock on the nightstand blinked back at her as she struggled to focus. Five o'clock in the morning was a horrible time to be woken up; let alone by knocking on the door. She managed to pull herself out of bed, blinking on her robe before heading for the door.

"Roger?" She pushed out through a sleepy breath, after she'd opened the door.

"I didn't want to ring the doorbell and wake up the kids," He started, as she stood aside to let him in.

"What has happened?" She asked, noting the look in his eyes, the fear etched in his face.

Roger pushed out a hard breath and tried to steady himself. "Two hours ago Tony was flying into a storm, testing the controls on the plane. He hit some turbulence and we lost radio contact. A few minutes later he dropped off our radar…"

"He is missing?" She asked, worried.

Roger nodded. "There's a good chance that he made an emergency landing somewhere and lost radio contact…"

"You do not think that is what happened," She said, reading the look in his eyes.

"I think if he was somewhere and could contact us, he would have. The plane could handle the weather he was flying in, but the way he just disappeared."

Jeannie nodded. "Are they going to send a search team to look for him?"

"Dr. Bellows and General Schaeffer are mobilizing a team right now. They'll dispatch them when it's light. They'll probably send someone to talk to you once the team is searching. I wanted to tell you first and I thought you could blink Tony home right now. Just so we can make sure he's alright, and that we send the team to the right area."

She nodded. "I cannot blink him unless I know where he is."

Roger nodded and held out his hand, offering her the paper he held. "These are the last coordinates that we had the plane at. There wasn't much wind; he shouldn't have been blown to far off course."

She nodded and took the paper, reading it carefully. She focused on the numbers and closed her eyes, blinking with all she could.

Roger spun in a small circle, looking for Tony after realizing he wasn't standing next to them. "Where is he?"

Jeannie shook her head. "It did not work."

"Why not? I've seen you blink Tony in hundreds of times."

"I do not know," She said, her voice starting to fill with panic. "If this is his location I should have been able to blink him here."

Roger shook his head. "Try again."

She blinked again and then a third time; both of which yielded the same results. "Where is he?" She asked, panicked now.

"I don't understand," Roger blew into the room, confused. "If he had to bring the plane down, he would have done it there. It's the only land mass for miles."

"Even if he was near this location, I could blink him here," She reminded him. "But I cannot. Why not, where is he?" Her voice cracked with fear.

He shook his head and moved closer to her. "We must have the coordinates off a little."

"I cannot…" She started, but the words got stuck in the back of her throat.

Roger put his hands on her shoulders, and looked into her eyes. "He's fine, Jeannie. This is Tony he would never leave you. The guy was up in the most advanced and state of the art plane that the Air Force makes and he couldn't wait to finish the mission so come home to you and the kids."

She nodded and blinked back tears. "I do not know what I would do without him."

"Don't think like that," He told her firmly. "He's fine. We'll find him when it's light out and the search teams can cover more area than just the coordinates we have. He's most likely just without radio contact."

He hoped he sounded more confident to her ears, than he did to his own.

**To be continued **


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors notes:** _I know that Dr. Bellows and General Schaeffar should be retired by this point, but for the sake of the story, they'll retire at the end. ;)_

* * *

**Chapter 3**

"It's just wreckage, sir," The young Staff Sergeant blew out slowly, his voice almost a whisper as he handed the papers in his hands to General Schaeffer.

Dr. Bellows shook his head. "He must have had time to eject…" His voice trailed off when Staff Sergeant Long shook his head.

"The pilot and co-pilot seats were found amongst the wreckage."

General Schaeffer forced out a hard breath while he read over the report sent from the search teams. "From the sound of this report, it may have been a survivable impact."

"The plane is not in a thousand pieces, if that is what you're asking. But all three teams report no sign of Colonel Nelson. The impact sight is very near the sea. If he was injured…"

"Don't say it Staff Sergeant," Dr. Bellows ordered.

"There is still to be a full sweep of the island," General Schaeffer ordered.

Sergeant Long nodded, saluted his commanding officers and headed off to pass on the orders.

General Schaeffer dropped the papers onto the table in front of them, and turned his eyes on Dr. Bellows. "We've waited as long as we can. We have to speak to Jeannie."

Dr. Bellows sighed and nodded reluctantly. "Colonel Healy spoke to her a few hours after it happened, but I don't believe he's spoken to her since."

"We can't wait for the sweep of the island; it's just putting off the inevitable."

"Will you allow Amanda and I to tell her?" He asked not as General to General, but as fellow husbands whose wives could easily be in Jeannie's position.

"I think hearing it for people she trusts most is the way to go. I'll do my best to keep the press away from this as long as I can. The last thing I want is those sweet children to find out from anyone other than Jeannie."

"The children…" Dr. Bellows breathed, "I wasn't even thinking of them. How can I look them in the eyes and tell them their daddy is gone?"

General Schaeffer's eyes slipped closed and he shook his head. "It's days like this when I hate this job."

* * *

"Where is daddy?" Ben wondered as Jeannie helped him put on his coat. "He said he would be home before I left for school."

Jeannie nodded. "His mission is taking a little longer than planned, but he will be home before your play." She hated lying to him, to all of them, but she couldn't tell them the truth—that their daddy and his plane were missing.

"Can I get out of class to watch the play?" Alli asked, backpack over her shoulders as she waited by the door.

"Nice try, darling," Jeannie laughed, scooping Josh up and motioning Ben to the front door.

Ben shook his head. "I want to wait for daddy."

"The day will go faster if you are at school," She told him, though everything inside of her wanted to let him stay. Let Alli stay home. Hold them all as tight as she could.

"I want daddy," Ben protested suddenly tearful.

She blew out a hard breath and opened the front door. "You only have to wait a few more hours."

"Mrs. Nelson! Mrs. Nelson!" Camera blubs flashed and reporters held out microphones. "What have you heard about your husband's disappearance?" "Early reports say his plane crashed on a deserted island…" "Do you think he's..."

She pushed the children back into the living room and slammed the door closed; locking it quickly.

"Where's daddy?" Alli asked this time, her voice filled with worry.

Jeannie shook her head, set Josh down at her feet and leaned back against the door.

"Mommy, what did those men want?" Ben asked, looking up at her.

How did those reporters know that Anthony's plane was missing? Why did they think that his plane had crashed? Why were they asking if she thought he was dead?

"Is daddy okay?" Alli wondered, tugging at the bottom of Jeannie's dress.

Jeannie took a deep breath, and knelt down so that she was eye level with them. She didn't want to do this, or have to tell them anything, but she couldn't bare the fear in their eyes and voices. "There was a little problem last night with daddy's plane. They cannot find where he landed with it. NASA has a lot of men out looking for it and as soon as they find it, daddy will come home."

They nodded, though she was sure Josh did not follow along. How could he at three? "When he landed his radio died so he cannot tell them where he is at. There is nothing to worry about, alright?" She assured them, with a soft smile.

Alli and Ben nodded, though she knew they did not believe her. Josh nodded too, but he was too young to understand anything other than the fact that everyone was upset. Alli and Ben moved so they could give her a hug, Josh snuggling in between his brother and sister.

She held them tight; like her life depended on it. In a lot of ways, it did. In her head she knew she had to let them go; in her heart she wanted to hold them forever. They were keeping her from falling apart. Her eyes drifted shut and she breathed them in.

Life could not be cruel enough to take Anthony from her; to take him from his children.

**To be continued**


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors notes:** _I know people are reading, but there's no reviews or feedback coming in. Is there a reason for this? Should I stop writing?_

* * *

**Chapter 4**

"You have NASA'S sincerest apologies, Jeannie," Dr. Bellows started, Amanda at his side. "We did everything in our power to prevent the details of Colonel Nelson's disappearance from going to press before we spoke with you."

She nodded and offered him a soft smile. "I do not mind, but it was hard to see my children so upset and concerned." She'd had to blink the kids to school, to avoid the press. They clung to her at the gate, and Joshua cried; all of them sensing that despite what she said; something was very wrong. They'd finally gone off to their classrooms and she'd blinked herself and Josh home. Josh was curled up in his bed, sleeping his worries away.

She wished it was that simple.

Roger shook his head. "When I get my hands on whoever the leak is…" Tina shook her head and reached for his hand, trying to steady him.

Dr. Bellows shook his head. "The internal search has already begun, right now, we need to focus on the information we have about the plane's disappearance."

Jeannie narrowed her eyes at him. "You say disappearance, but that is not what you are here to tell me."

Amanda Bellows shook her head and her eyes slipped closed and she gripped at her husband's arm.

"Why don't we have a seat," Dr. Bellows told them all, but only Jeannie moved to sit down.

"You have found his plane," Jeannie pushed out on a hard breath catching the look in his eyes.

He sighed and nodded slowly.

"But you did not find Anthony," She finished for him, watching as Mrs. Bellows bit back tears.

"We found the island where the plane…" He paused, trying to find the courage to say it without falling apart, "went down. We have also recovered the wreckage from the crash."

She nodded slowly, blinking back tears. "Wreckage…" It wasn't a question or even a statement; she was trying to process it all in her own mind. "Is it not possible he was not in the plane when it crashed?"

Dr. Bellows shook his head. "Both the pilot and co-pilot seats were found amongst the debris."

She nodded and thumbed at a few errant tears. She did not want to believe them; but she could not blink him home. She could not blink him anywhere. She had been trying all night and all morning, all to no avail. If he was not injured, if he was alive, if he was where they found the wreckage, she would be able to blink him home.

"I am so sorry, Jeannie," Dr. Bellows started again, after a few seconds of tearful silence. "The island has been searched with a fine toothed combed three times and there is no sign of Colonel Nelson."

"You can't give up," Roger told them, his voice angry, but his face and his tear filled eyes gave him away. "A person doesn't just disappear from a plane. Tony is out there and we have to find him."

Mrs. Bellows bit back tears, and turned away, knowing what was about to happen.

"Our search crews found this," Dr. Bellows said, holding out a torn and tattered paper to Jeannie.

Jeannie gasped, and held the paper in front of her, eyes fixed on the image in front of her.

"It was found near the pilot seat," Dr. Bellows told her through a broken voice.

"He kept this in the front pocket of his jumpsuit," She told them, tears falling now. It was her favorite picture of them all. It was supposed to be a well-planned family picture, taken a few months ago at Joshua's third birthday party. Of course the kids refused to sit still, and the whole thing had gone from posed and fake, to real and natural; right down to Ben sticking his tongue out and Allison's mouth wide open as she yelled her unhappiness.

Roger held out a shaky hand, needing to see the picture for himself; needing to make it real. "I took this," He half said, half laughed, his eyes sliding from the picture to meet Jeannie's. "This was his favorite; he said it summed everyone up perfectly."

Jeannie let out an audible sob, as Roger seemed to fall onto the couch next to her. "I don't believe it," He told her as he handed the photograph back to her.

"The search crews are still combing through the wreckage, should we find anything else of value we will ensure that it is returned to you."

Before anything else could be said, Josh's cries rang out. "I'll get him," Tina offered, but Jeannie shook her head, already on her feet.

"Excuse me," She half said, half sobbed as she quickly headed for Josh's room.

Dr. Bellows rose to his feet, intending to follow her. "Let her go, darling," Mrs. Bellows told him softly, her hand on his forearm to stop him. "She needs to be with her son."

"We'll stay with her," Tina told them, "We're going to Ben's play later, anyway."

Dr. and Mrs. Bellows nodded. "NASA will have to issue a statement soon and I will personally see to it that no information is released within it that Jeannie isn't aware of."

Tina nodded, offering them a grateful smile, while Roger nodded deftly but didn't look up. They made a quick exit and Tina locked the door behind them. "You're not going to give up on him, are you?" She asked headed back to her husband.

He smiled up at her and shook his head. "A person doesn't just disappear. Other than that picture there are no other signs of Tony, but the whole plane is there. Why? It doesn't make any sense."

"I agree. But didn't you say that Jeannie can't blink him here? If he was alive…"

He shook his head. "Don't say it. There's something we're missing."

"I do not know what it could be," Jeannie said from the other side of the room, Josh in her arms. "If he is alive why is he not on the island? And why can I not blink him?" She asked having pulled herself together enough function.

"I don't know yet, but we have to find out, Jeannie. We can't give up on him."

They couldn't. And they wouldn't.

**To be continued**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Tony Nelson stirred slightly, eyes blinking as he tried to focus. He shifted slightly in the bed he was laying it. His legs moved freely, as did his left arm. His right arm didn't seem to move for the position it started in, straight above his head. He was met with great resistance every time he tried to move it. Handcuffs or some other bind, he noted with a quick glance over his shoulder.

He blinked a few more times, the lights above him coming to focus. He had a dull pounding in the back of his head, and there was light sensitivity. He probably had a concussion or some other mild head injury.

"I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to wake up."

He squinted and narrowed his eyes at the woman sitting at the edge of his bed.

"You," He gritted out as the woman came into focus.

"You don't sound grateful," She started with a smile.

"Why would I be grateful for anything that involves you?" He asked, eyes meeting hers.

Jeannie's sister stared back at him, her eyes wide and lips twisted into a knowing smile. "You are alive because of me. I blinked you from the wreckage of your plane. You were unconscious; you would have been swept out to sea."

He stared blankly at her, his mind racing. He was in a plane crash? The last thing he remembered was Roger and Captain Adam's warning him that he was flying into a storm, which the plane was equipped to handle. It was fuzzy after that; there was turbulence and the plane seemed to fall from the sky. He was yelling into his headset; with only the grainy sound of Roger's voice as his reply. He thought he hit his head but he couldn't be sure of anything other than his world going dark. "How did you know my plane had crashed?"

"You obviously don't know where you crashed," She half said, half asked. "The beach where you found my sister's bottle…it's a kind of time warp. You know, between the mortal plane and the genie plane. Imagine my surprise when I came upon my sister's Master, just lying amongst the debris of his plane."

"Husband," He corrected, eyes fixed on her.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes at him. "Not for long."

"Whatever you have planned it isn't going to work," He threatened, tugging at his arm again. "Jeannie knows I'm missing, she'll be looking for me."

"Missing," She laughed jumping up from the side of the bed, "NASA is about an hour from publicly proclaiming your death."

"No one is going to believe I'm dead."

"Of course they will," She told him, nodding. "Your plane crashed at the water line, a little blink and there's no sign of you. Washed right out to sea."

He shook his head. "Jeannie won't believe."

"She'll be the first to believe," She countered. "Especially since she cannot blink you home."

"What do you mean she can't blink me home?"

"Why my sister would choose the life she has I will never understand," Jeannie's sister started as she paced the length of the bed. "A husband, a house and kids, what a perfectly manicured little wife she's become. How boring."

"Whatever you're up to, you won't get away with it," He told her, eyes burning into her.

She smiled down at him. "I already have. You can't get back and Jeannie cannot blink you home. You're mine to do with as I please."

"Why can't she blink me home?" He asked curiously.

"Just a little spell I whipped up. She thinks you are dead anyway, so it doesn't really make a difference now does it?"

"You can't do this to Jeannie, to our children. Those are kids are your family."

"They still have their mother," She shrugged. "You should be thanking me. A handsome astronaut like you shouldn't be spending his life wiping noses and tying shoes. We should be living the life of lives."

"We?" He questioned, his voice seething with anger.

"Of course, darling I saved your life, you are forever indebted to me. It'll be hard at first, but you'll get over that family of yours."

"You won't get away with this," He said again, his tone warning and hard. She wasn't going to do this to him; to them. Whatever she was planning was going to fall apart, her schemes always did.

"Just rest, I have big plans for us and you must be well," She smiled victoriously and then blinked out of the room.

His eyes slammed shut and he pushed out a hard, angry breath. If his head didn't ache he'd struggle against the binds and try to free himself. Though, he hadn't a clue where they were or if there was even a way out without blinking. How could she do this to him? To them? This was her family. He was a father and a husband…he pushed out another hard breath. If the idea of his family thinking he was dead upset him, Jeannie and the kids were sure to be barely holding on.

He tugged at his arm, giving it all he could…he wouldn't let her get away with this. He didn't know how he was going to get out of this, get home, but he would—even if was the last thing he did.

**To be continued **

**Authors notes: **_Jeannie sister (Jeannie II) isn't evil and I don't plan to write her as such. She just wanted Tony for herself, and in this fic, she wants him too. She has this misguided belief that life is better with her than with Jeannie. I promise, I'll write her in character as much as I possibly can._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"NASA is surmising that Tony was swept out to sea," Roger was telling Tina and Jeannie as the three of them sat around the table; Josh at Jeannie's feet as he sat on the floor playing with a toy truck and some cars. "That picture they found, it's dry and there's no water damage."

"Maybe it came out of his pocket before he went into the water," Tina theorized, but Roger shook his head.

"That pocket has a button that keeps it closed. He always buttoned that pocket. He liked to have a picture of you and the kids near his heart," He said, looking at Jeannie. "That picture would have been here," He started pointing to the debris map he'd convinced Dr. Bellows to let him have for a few hours. It was amazing what he could get done as a Colonel; as best friend and even god father to the missing pilots children. "or here, or even here…" He continued pointing to the map. "It's just not possible for the picture to have landed where it did if it was out of his pocket before he landed."

"You think he took the picture from his pocket," She said, watching him nod. "That would mean he was alive and conscious after the crash."

He nodded. "None of this makes sense, Jeannie. If the pictures of the wreckage are accurate, he had the landing gear engaged, that's a crash landing, not a crash. The debris field supports it. He took that photo out of his pocket, Jeannie, he had to have."

She shook her head. "I do not understand. If he was not swept out to sea, where is he?"

"You can't blink him to you, doesn't that make you wonder?"

"If he is dead I cannot blink him, it does not work like that," She said, shaking her head as she fought back tears.

"What if he's unconscious? Would you be able to blink him?" Tina asked quietly.

Jeannie nodded. "I could, yes. But I cannot. I do not understand why, if he is alive."

"I haven't figured that out yet, either," Roger nodded. "People don't just disappear. We knew where he went down, we knew when. We had a search team there as soon as they as it was physically possible. The tide had hardly gone out when they got there. I'm not an expert on this stuff, but it just doesn't seem to add up."

Jeannie looked down at Josh, who was still quietly playing at her feet, and then turned her eyes back to Roger. "If he was dead, I would know," She told him, blinking back the tears that welled in the back of her eyes, "I would feel it. I do not believe he is dead, but I do not understand why I cannot feel or blink him."

Roger shook his head. "We need to go to the island, have a look around for ourselves. We can go after Ben's play."

Jeannie nodded. "What about the children? I cannot leave them alone."

"Don't worry," Tina started, "I'll watch them. It'll be good practice."

Jeannie offered her a thankful smile. "We cannot tell the children until we know for sure." Her eyes were on Josh, who was a few feet away now, driving his car along the carpet. He had no idea what was going on; that his father was missing and possibly dead. He was still all sweetness and light. He, Ben and Alli were going to keep her losing herself with worry and grief. If Anthony was really gone, she had no idea how she was even going to begin to explain it to her kids or how she was going to go on without him; how they were going to go on without him.

Roger left the images and maps on the table, and spun around, moving toward Josh. He swooped down and scooped up the amused little boy. Josh laughed hard and full as Roger tickled his tummy. It was clear that the kids were going to keep them all sane.

"Whatever happens," Tina started, eyes sliding from Roger and Josh to Jeannie's worried profile, "Roger and I will always be here for you and the kids."

Jeannie offered her a grateful smile. "Thank you." She hoped with everything in her that this was all unneeded worry and there was some logical reason why she could not blink Anthony home. She had to believe that she and Roger would find something on the island that would lead them to Anthony, but she also had to face reality.

There was a very good chance that she would never see her husband again.

**To be continued**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Dr. Bellows said that he will be by to speak to me in two hours," Jeannie told Roger and Tina after she hung up the phone. He was likely on his way to tell her that NASA was going to publically announce Anthony's death. The mere thought made her stomach turn. How was she going to explain this to her children? It had been hard enough watching Benjamin's eyes fill with tears realizing that his daddy was not at his play; and it this was only a small Kindergarten performance. How could she explain to them that they would never see him again?

"That doesn't leave us much time," Roger mused, eyes locked on the images and maps before them.

"Alli and Ben get out of school in one hour," Jeannie said casting her eyes across the room to Tina, who was sitting on the couch, entertaining Josh as he colored.

"I won't forget," Tina said through a laugh, "I'll take good care of them, I promise."

She nodded. "I cannot imagine trying to explain all of this to them."

Roger shook his head. "Tony can explain it when he gets back."

"Your faith in him gives me strength," Jeannie told him, through a tearful smile.

"If this was one of us, Tony would be doing the same thing. We owe it to him."

She nodded. "I hope you are right, and we will find something that the search teams missed." She was headed across the room, so she could hug Joshua goodbye, tell him to be good for his Aunt Tina.

"Daddy's gonna come home now?" He asked, as Jeannie picked him up and settled him into her arms.

"I hope so, darling," She told him, leaning in to kiss his forehead. "Mommy and Uncle Roger are going to do everything we can to find him."

He nodded and hugged her tightly. "You be good for Aunt Tina."

He nodded as she set him back down.

"Ready?" Roger asked, giving Tina a quick hug and kiss goodbye.

Jeannie nodded, but her face gave away her apprehension. Roger handed her the coordinates and offered her a comforting nod before she blinked them away.

* * *

The sun was dropping behind the ocean, when they arrived. The tide was rising against the sand. The search and rescue teams had collected the smaller debris from the crash, but the bigger pieces of the plane lay before them. This island normally held such happy memories, ones they shared with their children. And now, it seemed to be his Anthony's final resting place.

Jeannie stood frozen, almost in the middle of her wreckage of what was her husband's plane. She closed her eyes, and squeezed them shut; holding back tears. It was almost unbearable.

Roger cleared his throat from beside her. "I know this is hard, Jeannie, but we have to do this."

She nodded, but kept her eyes closed. "I do not think I can bare it."

"It'll be alright," Roger coaxed, watching with a soft smile as her eyes fluttered open.

"What are we looking for?" She asked through a shaky breath.

Roger shrugged, he wasn't sure of anything, either. "Anything out of the ordinary, I guess. We'll know it when we see it."

She nodded and started her way around the wreckage. They both called Tony's name as they looked, hoping against hope that they would get a reply in the otherwise silent dusk air.

"There has to be something," Roger said, frustrated as they searched through the last of the debris.

Jeannie shook her head and opened her mouth to reply, when she caught sight of and object a few feet in the distance. "Roger, look…" She pointed to an area of smaller pieces from the plane.

He didn't see anything, but followed anyway. "What is it, I don't…"

She nodded, but said nothing, kneeling down as soon as she could. She moved aside a few pieces, needing the area clear in order to free the object from under the other pieces. She moved a final piece and the object, or make that objects, she realized as the pieces revealed themselves.

Roger grabbed the first piece; a small torn piece of emerald green silk. "What is this from?"

Jeannie didn't say anything, as she turned the other piece over in her hands. She would know this anywhere. "That is a piece of genie outfit, and this…" She started, holding her palm out to Roger, "is a woman's earring."

He raised a confused eyebrow at her. "I don't follow."

"My sister's earring," She pushed out through an angry breath.

"Your sister," Roger said back to her, trying to put it all together. "Your sister was here." He wasn't sure if it was a question of a statement, but Jeannie nodded. "Are you sure?"

"I was there when my mother gave her them to her," She told him, a million different scenarios beginning to run through head. Why had not put this together before? These coordinates, this island, it was a gateway between the mortal world and the genie world. All her sister had to do was stumble upon the accident scene; blink and no one would ever know any difference.

It was all starting to make so much sense.

Whatever it was her sister was up too, she was not going to get away with it.

She would do whatever she had to do stop her sister.

Whatever she had to do.

**To be continued **


	8. Chapter 8

**Authors notes:** _There's a twist coming and if you're paying attention, you can probably start to put it together. I'll give you a couple of hints: 1) The picture that Tony left behind, 2) There's a reason one of Tony and Jeannie's kids is a little genie. ;)_

* * *

**Chapter 8**

"I still don't understand why you can't blink him home," Roger said, watching Jeannie nod. They were back in Cocoa Beach discussing what they'd found and what it meant. Tina was keeping the children busy in the backyard while they tried to put the pieces together; tried to understand how and why Jeannie's sister had taken Tony.

"It must be a spell," Jeannie told him. "There are few in which an object or a person can be made resistant to the blink of another genie."

"How can we reserve something like that?"

She shook her head. "I do not even know if that is what she has done."

"Your sister has done a lot of crazy things over the years, but this seems extreme even for her."

"My sister has always acted first and thought later about her actions," She reminded him.

"She must want to keep Tony for herself," Roger mused.

Jeannie nodded. "That is all she has ever wanted and he fell right into her hands."

"So that beach is a gateway? Is that how your bottle got there in the first place?"

"Yes. I do not know exactly how it works, but genies and humans can pass freely from one realm to the next on that island."

"It must be some kind of time warp," Roger concluded.

"Djinn's and Genie's like to be on that island, she probably found him there and decided to take him."

Roger nodded. "Well, let's go get him."

Jeannie shook her head. "I am afraid it will not be that easy. Even if I can learn what spell she has put on him, I cannot override another genie's blink."

"We're just going to leave him there?" Roger wondered, shaking his head.

"Of course not," She blew back instantly, "but we cannot go to my sisters without knowing what we are dealing with first."

"How are we going to figure it out?"

She shrugged. The only thing she was sure about was that her husband was alive and her sister blinked him from the beach. "My mother or Haji I suppose."

"Tina and I will stay with the kids," He offered, hoping she would blink to Baghdad as soon as possible.

She nodded, but did not blink away. She needed to play this carefully. Dr. Bellows, General Schaeffer and a NASA spokesman had been by to offer her their official condolences, inform her that they were going to issue a statement to the press about Anthony's death; as far as anyone besides her, Roger and Tina were concerned, he was dead. On the outside, she was a widow mourning her husband and trying to hold her life together for her children. She could not draw any attention to what she and Roger had found on the beach. If her sister were to catch on or even suspect that they she was anything less than that of a grieving wife, she may never see Anthony again. "Thank you," She offered, "but I cannot go now. Not yet."

"You want to wait?" Roger questioned, confused.

"I do not want anyone to become suspicious and I do not want my sister to believe anything other than what the newspapers say. I need to go to Baghdad in secret. I need to speak to my mother without anyone knowing I am there. We cannot even tell the children."

"Do you really think that all of that is necessary?" He asked curiously.

"We cannot take a chance. If my sister were to even think we are onto her, we may never see him again."

"Can she do that?" He wondered nervously.

Jeannie nodded instantly. "Oh yes and she would not hesitate to do so."

* * *

"You have to eat, darling," Jeannie's sister coaxed Tony. She was flanking the side of his bed while she offered him a piece of bread.

He refused, just as he had done since he had woken up as her hostage.

"Fine," She hissed, blinking the bread away, "if you want to be stubborn and stupid, the consequences are your own."

"I want to go home." It was his only reply, and it had been since their conversation when he had first woken up.

"Oh yes, I know. You miss Jeannie and those sniveling little brats of yours. You really must get over all of that."

"Get over them? That's my family. Don't you have a heart at all? Those kids are your family too."

"Family?" She blew back at him, angry. "Family is nothing more than the same blood flowing through ones veins."

"And yet, that's what you want more than anything," He replied, catching the faraway look in her eyes. She could say she wanted to be alone all she wanted, but this was about what she didn't have and what Jeannie did.

"Ha," She laughed back, jumping up from bed. "Stop trying to talk your way out of this. I have already explained it all to you."

"And you really think you're going to get away with it?" He asked, even though he knew her answer.

"Why would any have any reason to suspect anything other than NASA's story, that you were swept out to sea after your plane crashed."

He started to nod, when he caught sight of something Jeannie's sister clearly had no idea about. "Someone is bound to find the piece of material that created that hole," He told her, pointing to the hole at the bottom of her pant leg.

She rolled her eyes at him, assuming that he was lying, but her eyes went wide as soon as she realized what he meant.

He watched her leaned down to inspect the tear, when he caught sight of another interesting detail. "Someone is going to notice a woman's earring amongst the wreckage of my plane." He watched her face go pale, as her hand shot up to her ear, needing to confirm this fact for herself. "You couldn't blink me right way," He noted, realizing that for her to have dropped an earring and tore her pant leg, there had to be some reason she couldn't blink him right way. "Why not?"

"You don't know what you're talking about," She hissed, shaking her head.

"Something is wrong with all of this," He concluded. "Jeannie can't blink me home, but you can't keep me here permanently with whatever spell you put on me, either. If you could you wouldn't need to keep my hand chained like this."

She shook her head and narrowed her eyes at him. "Do not try me, or you will be spending the rest of your life as some kind of horrible creature."

"You won't do that," Tony challenged, "that would defeat the purpose of all of this."

She blew out a frustrated and angry sigh, and shook her head at him, but blinked away before she said anymore.

He figured she had blinked back to the island, hoping to recover her earring and the swatch of fabric from her clothes. He was trying to remember, something anything, from after the crash; but it was all so hazy, and whatever head injury he seemed to be suffering from was effecting his memories. There was something he was missing, something that had gone on after the crash that wasn't the normal genie situation.

If his gut feeling was anywhere near correct, things were going to start to unravel faster than even he was expecting.

**To be continued**


	9. Chapter 9

**Authors notes:** _I promise this chapter will make sense in the end, and it'll all tie together._

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Roger and Tina headed home after dinner, assuring the kids with hugs and kisses that they would be back in the morning; and to be good for their mommy. They had been asking a million questions at dinner, wanting to know where their daddy was, when he would be home, and when if he was okay. She hated lying to them, but she couldn't tell them either truth; what NASA thought or what she knew.

"Mommy," Alli's voice was soft and barely there, as she peered out from her bedroom doorway.

Jeannie was sitting on the couch, reading the front page of the newspaper. There was a lovely picture of Anthony on the front cover. "Hi sweetie," Jeannie smiled, holding out her arms to her daughter. Yes, she was up past her bed time, but this one time she was going to go hold her close for as long as she could. "Is everything alright?" She asked as Alli stopped in front of her.

"I don't want you to be mad at me," Alli started on a whisper. "I don't want you to not love me no more."

"Allison," Jeannie told her eyes locked with her daughters, "there is nothing you could ever say or do that would make me or daddy stop loving you."

She nodded slowly. "It's my fault that daddy isn't home." She said it quickly, eyes sliding from Jeannie's.

"Of course it is not your fault," Jeannie answered instantly, but Alli shook her head.

"I missed daddy, and I wanted him to come home," She started, "I know you and daddy said not to…"

"You blinked him," Jeannie blew out watching Alli nod.

"I tried to blink him," She corrected. "I closed my eyes really tight and I thought about daddy, and I tried to blink him home but it didn't work."

Jeannie tilted her head slightly and looked at her daughter. "I do not understand."

"I just wanted him to come home faster; I didn't know his plane was going to get…" She started, tears welling in her eyes.

"Was this before you went to bed last night?" Jeannie asked, trying to establish a timeline.

Alli nodded. "I couldn't blink him, but I think I saw him."

She sounded confused, and upset, but not because she'd broken the rules.

"What do you mean?" Jeannie asked, motioning her to sit down next to her on the couch.

"Well I didn't see daddy, but I saw his plane. It was broken on the ground," She told her, looking up at her mommy.

It was not uncommon for a genie to be able to see what or who they are blinking before they did so, it was almost like knowing the situation you were getting into before you got into it. She was not very good at it, which is why she had always caused so much trouble, but her sister was, and now it seemed Allison was as well. She wondered what time this was. If it was the same time as her sister was trying to blink Tony away, it was possible the tales of things that happened when two blinks had gotten in the way of one another, was true. In this case they had effectively canceled one another out. She had never had it happen or even seen it happen, but it was possible and she'd grown up hearing stories of how wrong things could go when two blinks crossed the same plane at the same time. "You're right, when NASA found your daddy's plane it was broken but your daddy was not in it."

She nodded. "I know, mommy. Where is he?"

Jeannie shook her head. "Have you continued to try to blink your father home since then?"

She nodded again. "I don't know where he is. I can't see him anymore."

Jeannie reached out and took her daughters hands. "None of this is your fault, darling. Something happened after daddy's plane crashed. I do not think you were the only one who was trying to blink him. Uncle Roger and I are going to find daddy, and we're going to bring him home."

She nodded. "If his plane is on the island and he's not, where did he go?"

She shook her head, and pulled Alli onto her lap. "I am not sure of anything right now, sweetheart. But I will find your daddy and I will bring him home."

She had no idea how or what was actually going on; but she was going to figure it out. Find Anthony, bring him home and teach her sister a lesson. Whatever spell she'd cast, whatever blink she'd put on him, she was going to stop it, reverse it.

No matter what it took; what she had to do.

**To be continued**


	10. Chapter 10

**Authors notes**: Sorry for not updating sooner. I'm in the process of getting ready to move back to the UK and had to take the biggest test of my life, so my mind wasn't able to focus on a writing. I should be updating much more readily now.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

"You just had to hit your head," Jeannie's sister breathed through a frustrated breath. Tony had been in and out of consciousness since she'd blinked him from the beach. He has bump on his forehead and bruise around his eye. She did not think it was anything serious, but it was a serious nuisance, that kept her from moving them on. The longer she kept him there, the higher the risk of her being found out.

His head injury wasn't nearly as bad as he was letting on. He'd figured out not long after waking up that if she having trouble keeping him with her, then she must be having trouble blinking him; anything he could do to make it more difficult for her would buy him some time. "I'm sorry that my plane crashed," He threw back at her, watching as she shook her head.

"You are almost more trouble than you're worth," She hissed, pacing the room.

"You could always let me go."

She laughed dryly and shook her head. "In your dreams, darling."

"Why don't you just do whatever you're going to do?" He asked, done with all of this. He missed is family and his job. He missed is life and everything he'd worked for. He didn't even have the picture of the family that he usually had in jumpsuit pocket. He must have dropped it at the crash site. He wouldn't mention it to Jeannie's sister though, at least not right now. He still couldn't remember the crash or how Jeannie' sister found him or even how it could be possible that a picture fell out of his closed pocket. She hadn't found it, the piece of fabric or even her earring at the crash site, which meant that someone had collected them. The NASA teams may have seen the pieces, but if they didn't know what they were looking for, they may have bypassed them. If Jeannie and Roger thought there was something not quite right with all of this, it was possible they could have his missing picture.

"Haven't you ever heard of saving the best for last?" She told him smugly. "All in good time, all in good time."

Her voice was confident, but he could see the apprehension in her eyes. She wouldn't give any clues as to what was actually going on, but he was sure it had to be something out of her control. If things were out of her control, that meant that the more time he could bide, the more chance he had to figure a way out of for Jeannie and Roger to find him.

* * *

"I don't think mommy should have gone by herself," Alli worried eyes sliding up from her ice cream cone to meet her Aunt Tina's.

They were at the park; enjoying the springtime sun and time away from life. They'd had to pull the children through a sea of press outside of their home; the kids clinging to them as if their lives depended on it. They promised Jeannie that they would keep the kids busy until she returned and that they would their best to keep them from asking too many questions about Tony.

Roger was with the boys who had inhaled their ice creams and had run to the playground, leaving her and Alli alone on the picnic table.

"She's fine sweetie," Tina tried to assure, but Alli shook her head.

"Auntie Jeannie doesn't like mommy," Alli mused through licks of her ice cream cone. "She wants to make mommy sad."

Tina nodded. "This isn't anything for you to concern yourself with." She was still second guessing their decision to fill Alli in on what they thought was going on; where they really thought Tony was.

"I think Auntie Jeannie wants to keep daddy with her for always," Alli told her. "I don't think Daddy can come home."

"Not right now, but that's why your mommy went to see your grandma. We'll figure this out."

"I saw the island," Alli said nonchalantly, "and Auntie Jeannie."

Tina nodded, but then froze. Jeannie hadn't mentioned this. "You told your mother you didn't see your daddy?"

Alli nodded. "I didn't see her or daddy the night the plane crashed, I saw them last night."

"You blinked to the island? Why? Does your mother know?" Tina questioned through muted shock.

Alli shook her head. "Mommy and daddy tell me not to blink. But I wanted to see daddy, and I wanted to try and get him home. Mommy is sad."

Tina nodded. "What did you see?"

Alli shrugged and licked her ice cream. "Auntie Jeannie was looking for something. She didn't seem happy."

"Do you know what she might have been looking for?"

"I was hiding behind a tree," Alli noted, as she shook her head. "I didn't say nothing to her."

"That was very smart of you," Tina encouraged, "What else did you see or hear?"

Alli shook her head. "I think this is daddies."

Tina watched with wide eyes and Alli blinked in the object. She checked around them quickly, making sure no one saw what Alli had just done.

"I wanted to give it to mommy so daddy can have it, but she left to early."

Tina nodded, as Alli handed her the object. She wished Jeannie had seen this before she'd left. She wasn't quite sure what if anything it meant, but if what Alli had seen and what Jeannie and Roger thought was any indication, it was another piece of the puzzle which would get Tony home sooner.

**To be continued**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Haji had made her promise to go home and wait; let him handle the situation. That was if he could. He could only tell Jeannie where her sister was, not what she was up to. This was not surprising. Haji could only see things that were in his direct control, if a genie had gone outside the stream of control, then he could only find said genie and suss out the situation.

It seemed that whatever happened on that island was something for more complicated than even Haji believed. He told her not to go to her sister's location. He told her to stay away; go home to her children and let him get to work on bringing Anthony home. He had obviously forgotten whom he was dealing with. Haji was not a hard genie to deal with, and all she'd had to do was tear up and ask nicely, and he quickly told her sisters location.

She had promised not to go there, but she did not mean it. She immediately blinked to the location Haji had given her. It was a small building just outside of Baghdad's center. This was not the place her sister's master lived, nor was it anywhere she recognized. She did not dare blink inside, but she was going to peer into whatever windows she could. She wanted to get an idea of what she was dealing with. If they were going to figure out how to reverse or counteract her sister's spell, they had to have some idea what they were dealing with.

The windows were covered with different colored satin clothes, and from far away blocked any sight into the room. But when she stood before one draped in a soft green color, she was able to just enough. Her sister did not seem to be in the room, but she would not blink herself inside to find out. That was assuming she could. She was willing to disobey Haji, but only to a certain point. She could Anthony, however. He was appeared to have a one of his hands cuffed to the bed. This did not make sense. A genie should not need the help of mortal tools to keep a person in their possession if that was what the wished. If her sister could not keep Anthony with her without the use of human tools, then there was something more to this situation then just interference on the beach.

Her heart clinched in her chest as she took in the sight of her beloved husband. He looked tired, hurt and as miserable as she was. She ached to hold him, comfort him, take him home and be the family they loved so much. He did not look extremely hurt or to be in much pain, so she had that to comfort her. And despite the handcuff, her sister seemed to be taking good care of him. She was at least grateful for that.

Without her sister being home she had no real way of knowing what was actually going on or what her sister was really planning, but at least she knew where her sister and Anthony were and that he was alright. She could at least blink home and tell Roger, Tina and Alli that Anthony was alive and well. She placed two fingertips to her lips and pressed them against the window. With a sigh and whispered "I love you" she blinked herself home.

She knew little more than when she'd arrived, but she would take the knowledge that Anthony was alive and relatively safe, back with her and impatiently wait for Haji to figure out their next move.

**To be continued**


End file.
